Berea, Ohio (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For all the talk about fights and nonproductive joint practices that are seemingly happening around the National Football League, the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns didn't have any of that when they faced each other for almost two hours on Thursday.
There were a few minor pushes and shoves, but nothing to the degree we've seen on viral videos from other joint practices.
Bills head coach Joe Brady said before the session he made out clear to his guys that, although he wants it it be intense and for them to show their personality, he would have zero tolerance for punches thrown.
None were.
But what did happen was the Bills' first-team offense, for the most part, had a very productive afternoon against the Browns' starting defense.
From the very first snap of 11-on-11 work when James Cook busted through a gaping hole, to tight end Dalton Kincaid catching two touchdowns basically uncovered, the Josh Allen-led group looked in complete control of their work against the Cleveland defenders.
While Cook - last year's leading rusher in the NFL - continued where he left off, the passing game was incorporating both running backs and tight ends all day.
Jackson Hawes caught, at least, two touchdown passes, while Kincaid got loose both in a two-minute situation on just the second play, and also in the red zone, which was backed up by an interception on the adjacent field by defensive back Jordan Hancock.
Dawson Knox even got involved in the tight end party on a screen pass.
The energy from both sides was felt throughout the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, about 20 minutes from where the Browns play at Huntington Bank Field in Downtown Cleveland.
Defensively, the Bills made their share of plays, but the Browns also moved the ball a bit too easily sometimes with both Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson at quarterback, including an excellent pass from Watson to rookie wideout K.C. Concepcion.
But the Bills defense buckled down in both red zone and two-minute work, including an excellent pass breakup by Maxwell Hairston in the end zone.
Injury update
The Bills were still without several key players due to injury, including wide receivers Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Skyler Bell. Dante Pettis was another wideout who did not participate on Thursday.
Defensive lineman Ed Oliver, safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jalon Kilgore, center Connor McGovern , and running back Ty Johnson all missed the practice as well.
Next up:
The two teams will play their second preseason game of the season at Huntington Bank Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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